Not Enough
by Amarxlen
Summary: They all know in the end, that the reasons they gave for Sasuke to stay weren't enough.


**A/N:** Featuring Angsty!Naruto, Angsty!Sakura, and Angsty!Kakashi. I hope I did a good job keeping them in character despite the major angst fest. Oh, and I suppose you could call it self depreciating. So if you have a problem with that, leave now.

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto, Sasuke wouldn't have left Konoha, Sakura and Ino would stop chasing him and fall in love with Lee and Chouji respectively, Orochimaru would die a very harsh, long, painful death by green Swedish Fish, and Itachi and Sasuke would coexist peacefully. xD Yeah, right!

Not Enough

It wasn't enough, Naruto knows, to assure Sasuke that he wasn't alone in his pain. He knows that it wasn't enough to lay out his own pain on his sleeve, and force the Uchiha to notice it. It wasn't enough to tell Sasuke that Naruto thought of him as a brother, and cherished the bond they had developed, although Sasuke ignored and denied this bond.

He knows that maybe it was because Sasuke knew that he wasn't alone in his pain that he left. That maybe this was just something that the Uchiha had to do alone, more so out of care for his companions than the fact that he loathed them. Naruto doesn't know why anybody would choose to walk any path alone, unless they were forced into that path.

He knows that maybe it was because he lay out his own pain on his sleeve that Sasuke left. That maybe somehow in that convoluted mind of his, he reasoned that Naruto's pain was cause enough to leave. Naruto doesn't know how anybody could come to any such conclusion, so he wonders.

He knows that maybe it was because he told Sasuke that he thought of him as a brother and that he cherished the bond they had that Sasuke left. That maybe this statement only reminded him of the brother he had once had, but could never have again. The brother that he idolized, and would do anything for. Naruto thinks he can imagine what this feels like, because now, he's willing to do anything for Sasuke.

* * *

It wasn't enough, Sakura knows, to trail after Sasuke like the lovesick fangirl she was. She knows that it wasn't enough to try to remind him of the happy moments the four of them had together as Team Seven. It wasn't enough to confess her love, over and over, because Sasuke merely ignored her and found her annoying.

She knows that maybe it was because she trailed after Sasuke like a lovesick fangirl that he left. She's no fool, and she knows, he made it perfectly clear, that he left because he felt the bonds he had begun to develop would get in the way. Sakura doesn't know why anybody would choose to destroy those bonds, or believe those bonds would merely get in the way.

She knows that maybe it was because she tried to remind him of the happy moments they shared as Team Seven that he left. That maybe she reminded him of how quickly Naruto was improving, or how easily he was creating the bonds that he had promised himself he wouldn't. Sakura doesn't know why it bothers him that Naruto is improving so quickly. Over time she will understand.

She knows that maybe it was because she confessed her love over and over that Sasuke left. That maybe once he realized that he began to form bonds with them he was terrified of what the consequences would be if he valued them more than the bonds with his brother that had been forged through hatred. Sakura doesn't understand how the bonds of hate with his brother could possibly mean more to him than the bonds with his friends.

* * *

It wasn't enough, Kakashi knows, to preach to Sasuke about teamwork, and helping his teammates. He knows that it wasn't enough to teach him techniques that would allow him to gain his revenge, but hope he would make the right choice. It wasn't enough to compare them, again and again, because Sasuke had it in his head that nobody could possibly understand.

He knows that maybe it was because he preached to Sasuke about teamwork and helping his teammates that he left. That maybe he was too far gone to understand that teamwork and helping teammates were the basis for creating bonds, and that it wasn't as easy to break those bonds as one would imagine. Kakashi knows that bonds are a painful thing for the Uchiha.

He knows that maybe it was because he taught him those techniques that would allow him to gain his revenge that Sasuke left. That maybe he had put the idea into Sasuke's mind that he needed to gain more power, and it couldn't be gained by staying in Konoha. Kakashi knows the temptations of revenge all too well, and laments that he couldn't save his pupil from a dark and empty future.

He knows that maybe it was because he compared them again and again that Sasuke left. That maybe he had given the Uchiha the impression that Kakashi had made the wrong decision deciding not to pursue his revenge, and that Sasuke thought him a fool for resisting the appeal of revenge. Kakashi knows that Sasuke doesn't understand what he's giving up; he's too focused in the past on what he desires, but can no longer have.

In the end, the remaining three members of Team Seven found reasons to blame themselves for the Uchiha's flight from Konoha.


End file.
